About CVN

Friday, March 23, 2012

CVN was busy during the first the first half of March. In particular, Ice Skating Night was a huge success. It was a fun and rewarding night for both CVN and for the Therapeutic Recreation Department (check out the pictures at the bottom of the e-mail).

A number of outdoor events in April have recently been added to our calendar. Since part of CVN's mission is to develop leaders, the leadership team is encouraging fellow CVNers to lead an upcoming event. If there is an event or organization that you'd like to have CVN participate in, please let us know. Also, there is a leaders group and anyone interested in leading events can join. Joining the group doesn't commit you to leading an event. The goal is to expose people to opportunities and hopefully match volunteer leaders with an event, organization, or activity that they are interested in. To find out more, click here.

Easter Egg Hunt Assistants – Wednesday, March 28th, 5:30-7:30pm | CVN will be bringing a fun community event to the families living in Columbia Grove Apartments...an Easter Egg Hunt! Volunteers are needed to help with the set up, implementation, and clean up for the event. Come on out and help stuff the eggs, hide the eggs, and even run some arts and crafts for the children. Register here.

Tuckahoe Elementary Garden - Sunday, April 1st, 2:00-4:00pm | Join CVN at a gardening/landscaping session at Tuckahoe Elementary School. We'll be helping to maintain the diverse natural habitat at this neighborhood school so students can engage in interactive outdoor learning. Whether you're a green thumb or a gardening newbie, you're welcome to come on out! Register here.

Bikes for the World Recycling - Saturday, April 7th, 12:30-3:30pm | CVN will be assisting Bikes for the World with a multi-commodity recycling and reuse event sponsored by Arlington County. We will be managing the bike donation area—issuing receipts, helping people get the bikes out of their vehicles, and prepping the bikes. CVN will be hosting this event from 12:30 pm to 3:30 pm, though CVN volunteers can also participate in all or part of the earlier shift from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm. Register here.

"Carnival" Spring Dance with Therapeutic Recreation - Saturday, April 14th, 6:00-10:00pm | CVN will help Arlington County's Therapeutic Recreation Office with their annual spring dance. This year's event has a carnival theme so in addition to helping set up, decorate, and cleanup, we'll lead carnival-related activities during the event. This event, for adults with disabilities only, will feature games, music, food, a photo booth, and art activity. Register here.

ATS Schoolyard Garden - Sunday, April 15th, 2:00-4:00pm | Lend a hand with the monthly crew of CVN volunteers helping out in the garden at Arlington Traditional School. Newcomers and regulars are welcome to join us for landscaping projects large and small. This crew is continuing to transform the ATS garden into a fun space for kids to learn outdoors. Register here.

Reorganize Columbia Pike's Library Collection - Sunday April 22nd and April 29th, 1:30-4:30pm | CVN has been asked to help the Columbia Pike Branch Library shift around its collection to make better use of space and to make the collection easier for people to use. The results of our work will help community members find books and DVDs of interest that they might not see otherwise. We will complete this task over two weekends, but you do not have to participate in both shifts. Register here.

Part of CVN's mission is to create a positive difference in Arlington by developing leaders. To help promote leadership and provide more access to leadership opportunities we have created a new group to match leaders with volunteer events. Anyone interested in leading events can join. Joining the group doesn't commit you to leading an event. The goal is to expose people to opportunities and hopefully match volunteer leaders with an event, organization or activity that they are interested in. CVN's past experiences have found that a key factor in a successful volunteer event is a leader who is passionate about the activity.

CVN will use the group to send out information about potential volunteer events. We will post all the information we have on the event, such as a description of the event, information about the group we would be volunteering with, location, and date and time or potential dates if it is a flexible opportunity. If you are interested in leading an event just reply that you are interested and we will put you in touch with the contact for the group that we will volunteer with. Don't worry if you have never led an event before, we will work with you to get all the information and tools you need to run a successful volunteer event!